Please Help! Ducati Question...

[sherwood2]

I'm really new here-name is Randi, 24 I am stationed in Hawaii, Marine Forces Pacific.
I am helping my brother research a bike, and I can't find anything on any of the 30million sites I've visited that explain this.( Laugh if you must-I'm really green!)
The bike is a 1985, lists Ducati Desmo on it, also 600cc and has a Pantah motor.
Now I can't find a 85' 600 Ducati- Let alone when i checked the VIN my brother gave me-it said it was MV Agusta...What the crap does that mean.
Someone please take pity and explain to the new gal????

[Vince]

There are 2 models of Pantah,SL,sporty frame mounted fairing very disirable,
TL small handlebar mounted fairing, both have the same frame and motor,
there are the first of the belt drive motors, the earlier bikes were called bevel
drive,expensive to make so they went to belts,do a search on Bevel Ducati,
there are a lot of sites that have info on both,there is also an email list called
Pantaheads,anything spacific he wants to know.
Ducati was owned by the Castiloni{sp} brothers at the time and used the Pantah motors in there own brand of bikes called Cagiva Alazurra,try a seach on
Cagiva as well.
Vince

[DesmoDog]

I don't think they made the TL in '85? According the references I've seen, the TL was on made in '82 and '83. Though it was a poor seller and may have still been available new in '85.

I'd say the bike in question is likely an SL.

An MV Agusta is a different brand of Italian bike. It's kind of like saying the Ferrari you've found has a VIN that indicates it's a Lamborghini... Where did you check the VIN? I'm not sure when they started the "modern" VINs but these days one begining with ZDM indicates it's a Ducati.

[Vince]

I have an 84 TL,who's to say when the factory actually made it,they were putting
bit on what ever came along in those days,I saw on the bevelhevan site a list of
Pantahs imported to Oz and the numbers were not big and TL were almost nil.
I know the bloke who bought it new,dead cheap,he then bought the TT2 glass
and it ran like that till the tank melted,I acquired it by swapping a 92 350 Husky
and a couple of grand later its going nice and looks almost like a SL,BTW regoed as 84 but probably made in 83.Only drama is no one has a wiring diagram for the TL dash,would you believe 8 waning lights.